A woman cools off under a mist sprayer during the annual street music festival 'Fete de la Musique' while taking part in a heatwave in Bordeaux, southwestern France on June 21, 2026. (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP)
Madrid: Nearly all of Spain was under a heat alert on Tuesday, with parts of the south and north of the country placed on the highest warning level as a heatwave grips most of western Europe.
National weather agency AEMET issued red alerts -- a warning for "extraordinary danger" -- for areas around the southern city of Cordoba, the northern city of Bilbao and parts of the northern region of Cantabria.
Temperatures of up to 40C in the shade were forecast in parts of the Basque Country on the border with France, an area where such extreme heat is relatively uncommon.
Large swathes of central and northern Spain were placed under orange alerts -- the second-highest level-- while most of the remainder of the country was covered by yellow warnings. Only areas on the coastline escaped heat alerts.
In Barcelona, where temperatures have been rising without hitting the extremes seen elsewhere in the country, 76-year-old Jose Farre was forced to take advantage of the cooler early hours to do his shopping in the Catalan capital.
"I have a heart condition, I'm diabetic and I feel it a lot," he said, explaining that the rising temperatures have made it harder for him to sleep and even breathe.
"We've gained several degrees between my youth and today... But what bothers you the most is the humidity," he insisted.
Firecracker ban
Fears of wildfires and other incidents have also seen restrictions on Tuesday's celebrations for Catalonia's traditional feast day of Saint John, usually marked with fireworks and bonfires.
The authorities have called for extreme caution and have imposed a ban on setting off firecrackers or throwing flaming objects within 500 metres (1,640 feet) of a forest.
They also advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people.
The heatwave began on Sunday and is expected to last until at least Thursday.
On Monday, 101 of the 828 weather stations operated by AEMET recorded temperatures of 40C or higher.
Around 30 stations did not record temperatures below 25C overnight into Tuesday, underlining the intensity of the heatwave.
On the coast of Almeria in southern Andalusia, temperatures remained above 30C overnight for a third consecutive day.
Spain, which scientists identify as one of the European countries most exposed to the effects of climate change, has experienced increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves in recent years.
The country endured its hottest summer on record in 2025, with an average temperature of 24.2C.
